1970 anti-war hit song "War"

E917052

The 1970 anti-war hit song "War" is a soul protest anthem, best known for its powerful refrain “War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing!” and its association with singer Edwin Starr.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
1970 anti-war hit song "War" canonical 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf anti-war song
protest song
song
soul song
associatedAct Edwin Starr
The Temptations
associatedMovement anti–Vietnam War movement
Bside He Who Picks a Rose
chartPositionCanada 1
chartPositionUSBillboardHot100 1
countryOfOrigin United States
decade 1970s
era Vietnam War era
famousLine War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing!
genre R&B
protest music
soul
hasCertification gold record in the United States
hasChorus War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing
instrumentation horn section
rhythm section
isHitSingle true
language English
length 3:21
lyricsRefrain War, huh, yeah, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing!
notableCoverVersionBy Bone Thugs-n-Harmony
Bruce Springsteen
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
originallyRecordedBy The Temptations
performer Edwin Starr
popularizedBy Edwin Starr
producer Norman Whitfield
recordCompany Motown Records
linked to: Motown
recordingLocation Hitsville U.S.A. (Studio A), Detroit
recordLabel Gordy Records
Motown
releaseDate 1970-06-10
releaseYear 1970
subjectMatter criticism of war
human cost of war
theme Vietnam War protest
anti-war
social commentary
title War
vocalStyle soulful shout vocals
weeksAtNumberOneUSBillboardHot100 3
writer Barrett Strong
Norman Whitfield

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Edwin Starr notableFor 1970 anti-war hit song "War"